CHARLESTON, South Carolina (AP) -- Cadets at The Citadel will be required to take training aimed at preventing sexual harassment and sexual assault, officials announced.
School president Lt. Gen. John Rosa presented the preliminary design of the Values and Respect Program to the school's Board of Visitors on Saturday.
Rosa, who moved to change the culture of the Air Force Academy in his two years as superintendent there, said the lessons will teach cadets to respect themselves and each other.
During the fall semester, freshmen will attend 14 hours of lessons and upperclassmen will attend seven hours of classes. Before school begins August 23, Rosa plans to inform cadets, alumni and parents about the new requirement.
Rosa said preventing alcohol abuse is key. "If we cut out alcohol, we'd cut out three-quarters of our problems," he said.
Board Chairman Maj. Gen. Arthur Baiden said the program is bold and adopting it is a positive sign.
"The worst thing we could do as an institution is say, 'Boys will be boys and girls will be girls,'" he said.
In a survey of cadets this spring, officials found the most common forms of sexual harassment included repeated sexual stories and jokes, discussions of sexual matters, and offensive remarks about cadets' appearance, body and sexual activities.
Rosa did not say how many sexual assaults were reported by those taking the survey, but he said reports of sexual harassment and assault are more common among female cadets and more common among Citadel cadets than among students at the U.S. Service academies, including the Air Force Academy.